A message from Miss Quarmby
Hello! This half term is absolutely flying by! I hope you’re all well and have had a great week. As always, it’s been a busy one at Whitkirk! Reception had a visit from the West Yorkshire Fire Service. Our Year 1 pupils had a fantastic trip to Eureka—they absolutely loved it! On Wednesday, we welcomed Year 2 and Year 6 teachers from Leeds schools in our Trust to focus on writing (a huge thank you to Mr. Sadler and Miss Dougan for leading this). Then, on Thursday, our governors visited school and had the chance to meet with Miss Sanderson, Miss Richardson (Y1), Mr. Fayers, and Miss Richardson (Y5/6). They heard all about the wonderful things happening in their classrooms and were so impressed with the progress our children are making. It was lovely to see how proud our teachers are and were of everything that’s being achieved. We are so lucky to have such talented children—mathematicians, authors, artists, and sportspeople—we love coming to work to see their talents grow and grow!
Attendance – We’re still lower than we’d like to be this week, and we can’t stress enough how important it is for children to be in school every day. We do know that a nasty flu bug has been going around, and we hope everyone is feeling better soon! We’ve also noticed quite a few appointments during school hours. Where possible, it would really help if these could be booked at the end of the school day. If an early pickup is needed, that’s much better than missing the start of the day.
Next week, we will be hosting this half term's Diamond and Platinum awards—keep an eye on the post! I wonder who we’ll be celebrating this time… Have a lovely weekend! 😊
Attendance
This week, finishing in first place with 100% are 1JL! In second place are 1LR, with 96.73% and in third place are 3RD, with 95.97%. The whole school attendance this week is 94.08%: can we beat this next week? The only way to do that is if we all come to school as often as we can.
Let's take a look AT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON THIS WEEK
EYFS
This week, linking with our Big idea this term of 'Who can help us?' Our Reception children had an exciting visit from the firefighters of White Watch, Killingbeck! They explored the fire engine, asked some brilliant questions, and even got to try on real firefighting equipment. The highlight of the visit was using the powerful fire hose—lots of fun was had by all! A huge thank you to the firefighters for an unforgettable experience.
Key Stage 1
Year 1 have certainly had a thrilling week! On Monday, for our DT Day based on structures, we created our very own windmills with moving turbines. On Wednesday, we had the most fabulous trip to Eureka! We couldn't have been prouder of the exemplary behaviour and respect modelled by our Year 1 pupils. We loved joining in with the Science Show workshop all about senses and exploring the museum as scientists.
In Year 2 this week, we have published some incredible narratives based on Lila and the Secret of Rain—we are authors in the making! In Geography, we have explored the physical and human features of Kenya, deepening our understanding of this fascinating country. In PE, we have been developing our ball control skills.
Lower Key Stage 2
Year 3 have showcased just what incredible authors they are this week, publishing their persuasive letters from Harry Potter, urging the Dursleys to let him remain at Hogwarts. We have been blown away by their emotive language, use of rhetorical questions and how they have structured their work into paragraphs. In Science, we were faced with a challenge of finding out which soil is best to grow vegetables. We have conducted various tests, including how quickly water drains through the soil. In PE, we have enjoyed learning how to travel and roll in different ways as part of our Gymnastics unit.
This week Year 4 have produced some spectacular gymnastic routines incorporating rolls, bridges and even handstands! In Maths, we have been learning and explaining what a remainder is and learning how to divide. In Science, we learned about changes in state of liquids, solids, and gases. To do this we became particles in the class!
Upper Key Stage 2
This week in Year 5 has been amazing. We began our new Sikhism topic in English this week. When we began researching and getting ready to write our non-chronological report on Sikhism, we were amazed by the childrens' prior knowledge of the five Ks. We have also been practising short division with remainders in Maths. Year 5, your progress so far this half term has made Miss Kaur and Miss Richardson very proud!
It has been a fantastic week again in Year 6! We have continued to build our knowledge of the Galapagos Islands by looking at the biodiversity of each island and what makes each island unique! We wish we could have a school trip to visit the Galapagos Islands because we love learning about them so much! In Maths, we have become experts when adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing decimal numbers. See if you can challenge our Year 6 children at home!